kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

So I have been researching back and fourth and it seems the consensus of coilover owners is to just lay the car as low as possible. Then I hear about how mostly everyone has concerns of harsh handling and rides.


SO.... what I want to know if there are any owners here that are on coilovers and just lowered enough for a small gap and got a smooth (esq) ride from the coilovers with a decent pre-load and dampening.. experiences? speak on it

flyingemu05

mine is mildly lowered (imo) on coilovers, but you already know my story. i should also tell you i never adjusted mine since they were put on, the only thing i adjusted was the damper settings from full soft to 25f and 20r out of 30. so i never touched the strut/shock body or spring perch rings might be why my experience is a little different from everyone else who took their time to dial in the ride to their liking.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Yeah and thats why I am considering yours although I know not many of us here are suspension guru's but I do know that adjusting the rebound is just as essential as the dampening.. Do you have any pics of were yours sits at?

xseveredveganx

I felt that the ride of my friend's xB2 with the D2BD coilovers was a bit softer than my KSports. I didn't feel that they were harsh at all, just a little soft for my tastes. I think this is due to the low spring rate. The D2BD rates are 6kg/mm and 3kg/mm, while KSports are 7.5kg/mm and 4.5kg/mm. I'm still highly considering going even higher.
I have my KSports adjusted about half way to full stiff, and it's a little on the stiff side. However, I like the ride better than my Hotchkis springs. I've installed a number of sets of the DF210's, and I still prefer the ride of my coilovers. Before I started dialing in the dampening, I thought the car rode really well for coilovers. If you keep the dampening turned down a bit, but the car raised up, you should be fine.

Then again, I didn't mind the ride of a Nissan Hardbody with drop spindles, torsions all the way down, and blocks. Didn't think my S10 with heated front springs and a rear leaf removed...
Now I do.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I had lowered springs and removed a leaf with a block for my s10 and it had a mild bounce. I am torn between a lowered spring/strut set up like tokico but I would prefer a 1.2 inch drop in front and 2.4 in the rear to close the gaps up and I understand to achieve this I'd have to do coilover route. Just after reading all the posts about coilovers, most guys were getting them to slam the ride. I dont care to do that, I want a mild controlled drop without the log wagon ride.. hence the reason of starting the thread.. so are you dropped on the floor? or ???


Also I wonder if thats why flyingemu was getting that jarring feeling over railroads and pot holes and such, from the lower spring rate on the D2B's?

xseveredveganx

I'd assume the lower spring rate would be a culprit for a compromised ride. D2BD's rates are the same for the xB and xB2 when the xB2 is a bit heavier. Don't know why, but they are.

If you don't want to go all that low, i'd recommend the DF210's and the Tokicos. They'll be a nice combo and more than likely get you where you want to be. I'd recommend Hotchkis, as in my situation was lower than DF210's, but the ride is a bit stiffer.
I avoid potholes like the plague. Utah being a state that gets a bit of snow and decently cold winters, all the manhole covers are about 2" below the concrete/blacktop/whatever. I avoid those, too.

I'm not that low. A good bit lower than DF210's, but I don't scrape.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

See I was thinking more on the lines (especially after talking to SCIONIDE) of going with the NF's because I was afraid of bottoming out or rubbing with the DF's.

I am running the TC2 19inch TRD's and though I am not 100% sure the offset is the same as the XB2 TRD's I notice that the wheels sit pretty flush within the fender in the front. However with the NF's I wasn't satisfied with the gap left in the rear, so I leaned more towards H TECHS but I noticed a few guys commenting that they were stiff in the front.. Never once thought about DF's with the Tokico combo.. You may have solved my problem there Severed.. hahah I shoulda posted this many nights and 483 well invested hours into this.. (if my wife ever found that out

flyingemu05

i'm not used to lowered cars maybe thats why i think my coilovers are harsh. the xb is the first car i've lowered on springs/coilovers so i dont really know if what im experiencing is normal lol. but kingofthecrate i dont know if you'd like the NF's the ride on them was great but the wheel gap left more to be desired, when i had them i liked the drop for the first week because it lowered the rear to make it more even but after a while the gap gets to you. if you decide to go D2DB coils just hit me up.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Yeah man, see thats the same boat I am in.. I have a 64 SS Impala but its lifted and I have a full stack of 3 ton coils in the front and 2 ton half stack coils in the rear and needless to say that thing bounces like a lifted leaf springed F350 but its not a daily driver, its a sunday cruiser and even for a heavy car it bounces and CLEARLY isn't an ideal (or safe) suspension set up at all..

The XB is my first economic import car and I have to say, I love it and I don't care what people say about them.. Filling my tank up with 35 bucks vs 110 it took in my escalade is a no brainer, I may not look like a baller but with those savings, I really AM a baller in my savings account

but back on topic. yeah flyingmengu, I will keep you in mind because Im antsy to pull the trigger this week.. hell you wouldn't even have to ship to me since I live 10 min from you.. Also curious to hear your comments about your new air set up..

xseveredveganx

You have a 64 and it doesn't have a full wrapped frame and juice!? Tsk tsk...

You won't rub on anything with those wheels and DF210's. Trust me. Every once in a while i'd rub the inside fender liner with my Hotchkis setup, but no biggie. My buddy running 19x9.5's +45 in the front doesn't rub.

SamCarroll

I rub very little with a car load with my DFs and TRD 19"s. I absolutely love the ride compared to the TRDs and factory. Best springs i've purchased.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Sam, you on factory struts and shocks?

I have the 19 TRD's from the TC2 and like I said, I am not sure if the offset is the same as the Xb TRD's


and yeah I have the frame wrapped AND the rear quarter panels reinforced. I am running two pumps to the nose and one to the ___ and although I dont hop it as much as I used to, I was hitting 48 inches but I was sitting on some mickey thompson super swampers to achieve that.. the car has been rebuilt since then...


^^^ Yeah its no fun to clean

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

And since I am on photobucket and not done showing off



Here is one of my softails dumps.. now clearly riding like this will make yesterdays lunch come right up but aired up she rides good, although my biggest issue with air is that you really have to push the PSI for them to feel firm. They have kits now (for bikes anyways) that offers a two stage. It will allow you to set the travel as well on the bag which eliminates that huge oscillation that comes from bags..

flyingemu05

alright, if you decide to buy my coils i'll only sell em if you pick them up in the 64 ahaha.. i wanna see that beast.

SamCarroll

the tC TRDs have a 35mm ofset as opposed to the xBs having a 45mm offset. But yes im on factory struts and shocks.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

haha as long as you find someone to drive the flatbed trailer behind it to follow.

Yeah so it turns out my wheels are 19x8 +35 offset.. I have them wrapped with 225-35-19 BFG's (and damn those tires are noisy :even though they have less than 100 miles on them)

I have never owned anything with a macpherson strut set up but I do know that they dont perform well under drops. I'd have to email tokico but I wonder how well they handle severe drops. Im all about looking cool but I'd like to utilize the "suspension" characteristics of the Xb.. I read up on the spring weight on the D2B's and they are significantly softer, that might work, it might work well..

xseveredveganx

Sooooo jealous of the 64!!! Serious!

I've been into lowriders since I was a young teen! Dr. Dre Chronic days! I didn't even know how to properly pronounce Guiterrez. Sheltered kid in Wyoming...
I thought you lifted the 64 ala Southern Style! Guys out here are pulling juice out of their Regals and putting on lifts and 26's. Shame.
Back to the topic at hand, I seriously think the DF's will get you where you want to be. You could run stock shocks until you feel that a change is needed. Cut down the bumpstops if you go that route. Of all the 5 sets of DF's I've installed, I didn't and I think I should have.

And if you're going to talk about spring weight, i.e. unsprung weight, look into the Swift coilover springs. They use a better material and, I think, thicker windings. Doing this allows them to use less windings, thus less unsprung weight. I've been thinking about going with their springs for my KSports. Cause I want to go lower.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Yeah severed, for me being a product of los angeles and an italian/spanish male growing up east of the 405 freeway, you wouldn't be caught dead in a regal on 26's. However now I see dude rolling around on them all the time and I feel like yelling " take that s*** back to florida" but to each his own.

Ok back in topic. I was never really interested in slamming this car, hence the reason I was going to go with a mild lower springs or coilovers to achieve a drop that would just clean up the fender gap. I'm not looking to tuck the wheels, or m********* to pictures of my car in a mean stance. I think that's why I'm a little bit leery of putting on the DF's. Maybe the TEIN H TECHS would be a more viable option, but as I said of huge concern of mine is cutting the travel out of the strut/shock which entail kills suspensions.

Which brings up another good question, I wonder how many miles we can get out of these coilovers. Are the shocks serviceable at 50,000 miles? I know they are sealed they don't seem rebuildable. Another fun fact to chew on..

xseveredveganx

The DF's still leave about a 2 finger gap, depending on how fat your fingers are. They get rid of the rake, that's for sure. I haven't messed with the Teins, but they're a very high quality product I'm sure.

As far as mileage on the shocks and struts, I removed my Hotchkis springs and OEM shocks/struts with over 50,000 on them. No leaks, what-so-ever. I've also been curious about using a Bilstein or Koni insert with the OEM strut body. I know the tC has an option from Koni with replacement inserts.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

I haven't looked at our OEM struts I wonder if the top and is pressed on and not threaded to replace the insert cartridges. It would definitely be cool mod though.


I was referring to the coilovers.
What do you do with those at 50k? Take them out and have them rebuilt? I wonder what that cost and if the manufacture of these even does it?